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It is now about a week to election day. Kenyans will cast their ballots to determine who leads the next government. As the sands run out of the hour clock towards D-Day, campaigns are in high gear.

 For some reason, the 2022 campaigns have been rather staid, laid-back even. The usual high-octane campaigns of yore that bring everything in the country to a standstill are not much in evidence this season.

But then, the circumstances surrounding the 2022 elections are anything but normal. The political dynamics driving the election are so convoluted that just getting a handle on the situation is a near impossible task. The sum total of these dynamics is that yesterday’s major rivals are today’s bosom buddies, and the bosom buddies at the time, are today’s major opponents. This has, apparently, thrown voters off kilter. But the situation seems to have spawned something else hitherto unheralded.

 There is no ethnic jingoism in this election. The few early attempts were quickly snuffed out, and that campaign strategy seems to have been shelved. Politicians have been left to trade personal insults and barbs— they will do so anyway. But even then, there seems to be a line none is willing to cross, and anyone doing so has received a serious backlash.

Social media is abuzz. However, the highly toxic caricatures of yore that seriously poisoned the political environment are missing.

Pleasantly, issues have taken centre stage. This is especially so about the issues that really matter to Kenyans, corruption and cost of living being at the top end of the scale. At all campaign rallies of the presidential campaigns, the key messages- after the ‘statutory’ hitting out at opponents is ‘what our government will do for you.’

The campaigns this electoral cycle are so tame it’s unbelievable. Life is going on as normal. In fact, the tension seems largely confined to hyperbolic headlines in the news media. If all this portends the coming to maturity of the democratic process in Kenya, then this is an excellent thing happening.

Kenyans must now take this to its logical conclusion.

First, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) must deliver a free, fair, credible and accountable election. It is to the credit of the IEBC that it is now moving with dispatch to deal with any issues of concern that are raised by stakeholders, especially the competing political formations.

The country recently saw the IEBC take representatives of political formations and other stakeholders to Greece to inspect the printing of the election materials. The fuss over the Venezuelan IT experts and the stickers they brought with them, plus the issue of the extra Form 34Bs, were all sorted out in a consultative manner.

 Secondly, the issue of public servants openly campaigning for one of the political formations, that had caused so much heat, has faded away as those officials receded into the background. All these will allow cooler temperatures during campaigns, and calmer heads to prevail in case of a major issue.

 Thirdly, the citizenry must maintain the current calm and composure. Refuse to be used by politicians to create any kind of unrest.  Refuse to be incited to harm your brother or sister because of political contestation.

  It should be very instructive to Kenyans that the two key political formations are made up of leaders who have been on opposing sides of the political divide at one point or the other. So, there really is no enmity between politicians.

Kenyans must realise that at the end of the day, all they have is peace to enable them provide for their families before, during and after the elections. Not a single politician will come to their house to change their lives, they have to do that themselves.

And lastly, to the contestants, please accept the results of the elections, win or lose. The country does not have to go into paroxysms because an individual has lost an election. There’s always tomorrow. And there’s also destiny, which might not favour you! As the Swahili adage goes,’asiyekubali kushindwa, si mshindani,’ (Do not get into the game if you cannot accept defeat). 

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